You might imagine that your new baby will become instant best friends with their older brother or sister the moment they meet. While you are having a vision of matching outfits, bedtime cuddles and backyard hide and seek and the kids enjoying themselves, it is important to remember that sibling bond isn’t always immediate.
Introducing your baby to their new siblings can be met with a dazzling range of emotions, from pure joy to indifference, to jealousy! It’s important for mums and dads to step into their child’s shoes for a second, especially if they’re an only child. A baby brings lot of changes in the time spent with mom and dad, alter the daily routine, it is actually a lot to take in for the older sibling.
Although you can’t predict exactly how your child will react to their new little sister or brother, you can help make their first meeting go as smoothly as possible. I have put together some top tips to help get your little ones bonding positively as soon as possible.
Bond with your Bump together
Even though your children won’t physically meet until the baby is born, your older child can meet their new sibling before then. Encourage your child to talk to your baby bump. They can talk about anything – what’s going on around them, their favorite toys, or the fun things they’ll do together after baby is born. You could even sing or read stories to the baby together.
Let your child feel your baby bump, too – especially when the baby kicks or moves around. Most kids are surprised and delighted to realize the baby is moving around in mom’s belly.
Read books, watch videos, or listen to programs with your child about gaining a new sibling. Show them pictures of their baby pictures to help them relate and be sure to reinforce how much fun having and watching over a new friend will be, and how they can ‘help’ by being gentle and kind.
Prepare your elder one ahead of time
Change can be stressful for kids. Even seemingly small changes like switching to a big kid bed or a different bedroom can cause stress or anxiety. If you’re going to change things in your home to make things more comfortable when the baby is home, do it a few months beforehand.
This will give your older child time to get used to the new changes. They will get some time to transition to the change before the baby comes in.
Give a gift for the older sibling when the new baby is born
Everyone wants to feel special. A newborn baby is usually the center of attention, especially when family and friends come to visit. And this can cause jealousy in older siblings.
Giving your older child a small gift or a sweet card that baby “picked out” for them can help them warm up to their new brother or sister. A small stuffed animal, a book or even a loving note about how excited the baby is to meet their sibling is all you need to make your older kiddo feel special.
Encourage your child to help out with caring for baby
Your new baby will need lots of care and attention - something their siblings will be able to help out with! Turn activities such as nappy changing, feeding, putting to bed, chatting, and entertaining into fun activities for them to help out with. Your children will enjoy being praised for being useful and learn to take responsibility and grow closer to their new brother or sister.
Remember that bonding happens naturally
Welcoming a new baby is a big life change for everyone in the family. With that change, comes stress, excitement, and some growing pains for your elder one. So as a parent, we need to remember that Bonding comes naturally, and it takes time. There might be some bumps along the way, but your children will develop strong bond over time, and you will be able to make plenty of beautiful memories as a family.
Remember not to put pressure on yourself or your kids while they’re getting to know each other. Everyone is on their own timeline and bonding will happen at the perfect speed for your kids.
Happy Parenting!